Former North Country chamber secretary gets jail time for embezzling

By BOB HOOKWAYSpecial to the Union LeaderSeptember 18. 2013 7:40PMLANCASTER — The former secretary of a North Country chamber of commerce has pleaded guilty in an embezzlement case and will spend six months at the Grafton County House of Corrections starting in November.

Brandy Cassady, 39, of 39 Pauls Drive, Lancaster, was secretary of the Northern Gateway Chamber of Commerce in 2012 when, according to prosecutors, she made unauthorized withdrawals in excess of $1,500 between April 1 and July 31 of that year.

In a plea agreement approved earlier this month, k, a court spokesman said Wednesday the Class A felony charge of theft by unauthorized taking against Cassady was dropped to a Class B felony.

Cassady pleaded guilty, and Coos County Superior Court Judge Peter H. Bornstein sentenced her to a year in jail with six months suspended, placed her on a year’s probation when she’s released and ordered her to pay $12,000 restitution.

Coos County has no provision for women inmates, so Cassady will be incarcerated in North Haverhill starting at 10 a.m. on Nov. 15.

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